


Better Late Than Never

by KageSora



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, I PROMISE THAT ISN'T ANYTHING DIRTY, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Spoilers, THIS IS NOT SPOILER FREE FOR THE VERY ENDING OF KH3, aqua is NOt having this BS yen sid, hi welcome to the first fic ive written for this fandom since goddamn 2004, inspired by a tumblr post, sora deserved better and master aqua aims to give it to him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 10:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17958845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KageSora/pseuds/KageSora
Summary: Aqua had seen the fallout of one wrongfully denied Mark of Mastery.  She was not about to let a second slide by.





	Better Late Than Never

**Author's Note:**

> So, uh, dedicated to [gearstorm on Tumblr](https://gearstorm.tumblr.com/post/182744769825/concept-aqua-hears-about-everything-sora-has) because their post caused my hands to slip and this to happen?
> 
> WARNING: SPOILERS FOR KH3'S ENDING.

She had wanted to get to know these three children, who had saved her and her friends and all the worlds. To see how they had grown from when she stumbled across them all 10 years ago. To learn how they had come to do what they had done, what trials they had undergone and what lessons they had learned.

Riku was hesitant, and hearing his tales made her understand why–it was not one that he came out looking good in at many points. She had shared a look with Terra more than once during his tale. But he overcame it with his friends in the end, and had even attained the Mark of Mastery.

Terra had smiled at that–and taken it to heart: if Riku could overcome his possession and time in the darkness and become a Master, then he still had hope, too. He was not only his mistakes–he was his successes, and his learnings from those failures. He could do better, could be better.

Ven had been surprised to hear of the armored form that Riku had faced in the depths of Sora’s heart. But it made sense–Sora had been not only his second chance, but his third chance as well. He would have wanted to protect Sora if he’d been aware.

Kairi’s tale was shorter. Ven had been surprised about her heart resting in Sora’s for a while, joking that they’d been roommates and not even known it.

Aqua admired her determination to defend herself and her friends, and gently admonished her when she would downplay her efforts–for one with very little formal training, she had done well. And for much of what she’d done, she’d had no formal training at all. There was no need to dwell on that.

But the story that touched her the most deeply was that of Sora.

It had been a long, confusing, exhausting, and difficult affair to get the entire thing told–at least, as much as they could. So much had happened, so many worlds saved… And twice over in some cases! How any one person could hold up for so long under such trials, under such staggering loss over and over and over, could still put on a smile for others… She was sure that inside he was lost, confused, and heartbroken many times. It wasn’t healthy to bottle it all up. But that he still found the strength to put one foot in front of the other amazed her.

No matter how many times he was pushed down, he clawed his way back up. And he saved so many. Some would have been lost to the darkness, some he brought back from that fate after they had fallen–he had helped Riku become the Master he was today, after all. Perhaps, if she had been more like Sora, Terra’s fate could have been different… (Riku and Mickey had shared a look when she’d murmured that to herself–she wasn’t sure why.)

But it wasn’t until everything had finally been told that she learned the first thing to make her truly furious for the first time in the last decade.

“Then, why were only you introduced as a Master, Riku?”

Riku had gone silent, looking to the side for a moment. “Yen Sid said that since he fell to Xehanort’s trap and I had to save him, and since he didn’t master the Power of Waking, that he failed the exam and didn’t have the Mark of Mastery.”

Aqua had fallen absolutely still and silent at that, disbelief and cold fury spreading through her veins.

Ven and Terra had looked at each other, knowing the signs of a storm about to hit.

Noticing the sudden chill in the room, Riku had looked to her only to see an impassive face looking back. Not even at him, but more _through_ him as if at another person.

She nodded calmly, before speaking, her voice a calm and level, “I see. Thank you. I need to speak with Master Yen Sid now, however.”

With that she’d left, eyes closing for a moment to reign in her emotions. She stiffly marched to the room in the Tower where he was sitting, pouring over a book. Closing the door behind her, she waited for him to acknowledge her.

“Yes, Master Aqua?”

Looking at him for a moment longer, she gathered her thoughts.

“I heard from Riku about his and Sora’s Mark of Mastery exam. How Sora failed.”

Silence for a moment…

“Yes, that is correct. He failed to attain the Power of Waking, which was essential to restore Ventus from his slu–”

Crossing to his desk in a moment, she slammed her hand down upon it cutting him off mid sentence, her voice raising slightly but with that dangerous edge of calm to it.

“ _Sora_ saved the entire Realm of Light multiple times over. _Sora_ helped pull Riku back from the darkness. _Sora_ , on more than one occasion has given up his life to protect others and the entire Realm of Light itself. _Sora_ will not be slighted simply because you didn’t see fit to acknowledge his incredible resilience in the face of utter despair and the hope he has brought back to countless people and worlds!”

Her voice had risen to a near-shout by the last sentence, her frame trembling with fury.

“As **Master** Aqua, I hereby name Sora a Keyblade Master.”

She turned, not caring what Yen Sid might think of that matter–it wasn’t important. No, what mattered is that he would be recognized as a Master from now on, she would see to that personally and would inform the other wielders.

As she headed towards the door, her voice was just the barest whisper, tight with lingering rage and grief.

“I only wish he was still here, so he could have heard it himself.”


End file.
